The mass of tropicals expected since the El Nino became reality seems to be in or near the California Bight. Skiffers and day-boaters are catching wahoo, so many that it’s becoming common. Recent anglers who scored on skins include Rick Maxa and Brandon Hayward, among many others. Even more unusual, blue marlin, the big females, are here too, with fish well over 600 and 400 pounds caught. The high ocean temperatures and the presence of bait are responsible, no doubt. See the report from Excel below, about water temps that are too high for the fishing normally expected at The Ridge.

So the next and possibly final question for the season is, how long can this visit to heaven last? There’s rain in the forecast, but it seems unlikely it will be cold enough to turn off the fish spigot.

Much Needed

American Angler reported for October 1:

“After a long last couple of days trying to piece it together, today we hit gold and found what we’ve been looking for, fast action and biting fish, starting it off with an after-breakfast window where the gang enjoyed some yoyo yanking and cranking on some freaky yellows followed by an after-lunch heart-pumping surface iron and fly line bite. With every hook set came the feeling of redemption and gratification and when the smoke finally cleared we could call today a well-deserved success story. Two old friends, Steve Sargent and John Pherrin take a minute to smile and enjoy the moment. We are gonna head up the line and try to work around the wind.”

Ridge To Rocks

Excel recorded sea temperature of 86.3 degrees and no current October 1:

The next day skipper Fleck noted, “We woke up to some nice current and the fishing was good for tuna and Yellowtail, the tuna were from 15 to 35 pounds and the Yellowtail were from 15 to 20. We also had a few Wahoo, Dorado and a handful of Grouper in the mix. We are now headed for Alijos Rocks to target Wahoo and tuna. We will check back in again later and give you an update.”

Ken Bush Trip Report

Intrepid skipper Jesus Companioni wrote October 1:

“We are still having technical problems with the WIFI but we have a sat phone backup. Here’s whats happening: yesterday we had daily limits of Dorado, 14 Wahoo and a pick on the yellows and yellowfin tuna. The weather is ok and the water is very warm. Conditions have changed since our last trip down here but we are on the hunt as always.”

Rooster Winners

Skipper Derek Waldman reported for the Red Rooster III October 1:

350 Yellowtail, 103 yellowfin tuna, 16 dorado and two wahoo were caught on a six-day trip to the San Benitos Islands and offshore.

1st Place: Gary Sax of Laguna Niguel, 33-pound yellowtail

2nd: Tim Hughes of San Diego, 31.9-pound yellowfin tuna

3rd: David Koehler of Glendale, AZ, 30.6-pound yellowfin

Trolling JP: Tim Hughes of San Diego, 49.5-pound wahoo

Something Different

Royal Star skipper Brian Sims wrote October 1:

“Today we started out on the coast looking for yellowtail. We found a few mixed grade yellows willing to bite, but by lunch we knew we weren't going to get the big hit we were looking for. We headed offshore looking for schools for the afternoon. We found some kelps and managed a few good size Dorado. Again, the big hit eluded us. We will be coastal tomorrow. These fine-eating White Seabass came during our morning of yellowtail fishing. The lucky anglers from left to right are: Doug MacBlane, Don Walker, Norin Grancell and Lamar McKay.”

100 Skins On The Wall

Searcher reported October 1:

“On ‘Team Searcher Appreciation Day’ we had some fun with a kelp paddie and some good-size dorado. It was chaotic for a while and everyone had a great time landing dorado. It was a goal of ours to get some dorado today so we fulfilled that goal in some windy conditions. That made it a little interesting! We also had a wahoo come aboard, caught by Steve Heffner from Idaho. That was the 100th wahoo landed this trip!”

In The Mailbag: Frozen Chunks

“Bill:

I am going on a 15-day trip in Nov on RP, do you have an idea when I can buy some big frozen shrimp for chunking?

“Is there a good bait and tackle shop in Orange County or near Point Loma?”

Roger C., (by email September 28, 2015)

Bill’s Reply

Hi, Roger:

A couple of things—big shrimp are too expensive to use for chunking; and I’ve never seen any passengers who brought their own chunks and then used them. The boat will likely provide any chunks of fish or squid that are needed, and will assign a crewman to disburse them. The only shrimp available for bait that I am aware of are ghost shrimp, which are fragile and used for hook bait, not chunking. You might want to contact the boat’s office about this to ensure I’m correct.

Good luck on your trip,

Bill

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